That was made abundantly clear to us in the past couple of months. I apologize for missing reports. Please accept this as my report for both November and December. As you will see, Change and Chaos have been the hallmarks of the past few months.

Change in our Lives

In November, Samantha and I learned that the home that we have rented for 2.5 years was being put up for sale. Immediately, we were expected to have our home “show ready” and to accommodate the schedule of the realtor. It was clear to us that we needed to get out sooner rather than later so we moved to a new neighborhood. We are now located in Kapalina Beach Homes. Folks here on Oahu know the place as Iroquois Point. This neighborhood was once a navy housing community and has now been turned over to a private company as an apartment community. There are just over 5000 people in this area. We now realize that even though the change was difficult, God was moving us to an area where we will meet a lot of new people. We are thankful for new ministry opportunities!

Also, the end of 2014 marks financial changes for us. Our NAMB funding begins to taper off in 2015 and in the Summer, our financial relationship with Second Baptist Springfield, MO comes to an end. We are committed to our work here and are trusting the Lord to provide. He is showing us that He will.

Change for our intern, Matt

If you do not know about Matt Lincoln, you should. Matt is devoted to reaching one of the least reached and most difficult groups on the island: Micronesian teenagers. He pours his life into these kids, teaching two Bible Studies per week (one in an apartment complex most people would fear to venture into) and spending countless hours hitting the streets and finding kids to disciple. It is truly a blessing for us on Sundays to see Matt come in with about 5 young men who chose to wake up early and worship! Even more so to go to Waianae and witness Matt showing and sharing the love of Christ with these kids.

But change came for Matt as well, as he learned that in January he would no longer be able to live in the room he had at the PuuKahea Conference Center. Because he has not been here long, Matt was not able to find a landlord in Waianae that would rent to him. However, a member of our core group had a room available and now Matt lives in Kapalina Beach Homes. Though this has increased the drive to Waianae (we gave him a car, who will give him some gas money?) this has also been a huge open door for Matt. For starters, Matt now lives just around the corner from me, making it much easier to keep in contact and begin his church planter training. Two, it puts him in more frequent fellowship with the people of Aloha Community Church. This was something he needed. And three, it gives him opportunities to also do ministry in Ewa Beach as we look to begin a youth group.

Changes for Aloha Community Church

One fact of life in Hawaii is that some people are only here temporarily. As 2014 came to a close, we said good-bye to a few that have been with us from the beginning. It can be disheartening to see us reach new heights in attendance and then drop back to previous numbers. However, ministry is not about numbers. (Even Jesus saw a most of the people leave). We do not define the past couple of months with that negative change but with some great ones as well.

First, Aloha Community Church has a great place to meet INDOORS at the beautiful Ewa Beach Golf Club. This has been a tremendous blessing to us. Also, we have seen a new family attend the church. We are initiating a launch plan for April (that’s right we are finally going to launch). This is an exciting time for us with a lot of amazing things ahead.

And some minor changes

We have really made some changes to our online presence lately. Our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/gospelforhawaii) is a lot more active. We encourage you to like the page then like, comment, or share the posts (this increases visibility). Also, on our website (www.alohacommunitychurch.net) you can now listen to sermons online! Check us out and see what we are up to!

I ask you to pray for the following:

For our family and the transitions ahead. 2015 will be a year of change as we will (Lord willing) finalize Kerry’s adoption, see the arrival of our “Hanai (Hawaiian word for family, though not be blood) son and daughter in-law” and transition to bivocational ministry.

For Matt Lincoln and his ministry in Waianae and in Ewa Beach. Pray that he is continually refreshed and encouraged.

For the church that we will move forward with enthusiasm and embrace all that the Holy Spirit is doing.

If you would like to support Aloha Community Church, you may do so be sending your checks to:

Aloha Community Church

4913 B Mokupea Place

Ewa Beach, HI 96706

If you have a specific reason for sending support (such as to help Matt Lincoln, etc) note it in the memo.

I am constantly asked about what is happening in our plans to plant a church in Hawaii. In some ways the answer always seems to be “not much” and in other ways it is so much that it is overwhelming to think about.

Perhaps that is because the process is eating and elephant: one bite at a time.

The bites are small at this point, but there are a lot of them. A lot of things are coming up and a lot of things are in the works. Here they are:

We have some pretty significant events coming up. This weekend, Samantha and I will attend Basic Training A with the church planting team of the Missouri Baptist Convention. We have already been through the assessment process. Now we must complete three weekends of Basic Training. This coming weekend is the first. We are looking forward to it. The Church Planting Team at the MBC has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Pray for us that we can go like a sponge and soak everything in.

Also, in two weeks, I will attend the Sentralized conference in Kansas City. I am really looking forward to learning from some of the top people in church planting and missional living as well as meeting other church planters.

On October 23, we are planning to attend Foundations for the Future Day at Second Baptist Church in Springfield, MO. There, our plans will be introduced to one of the most mission oriented churches around.

During this time of going here and there, I have a lot of things to do. For one, I really need to spread the word about what we are doing. We need a lot of people behind us. This is why I started this blog as well as a facebook page. I encourage everyone to join our facebook page as well as share this blog with others. We need to get the word out and get a good team of people praying for us.

Also, I am working on the prospectus; and informative booklet or brochure to give to potential partners and supporters.

These are the small bites in the early stages, and there are many of them. Pray for us that we keep moving ahead towards the Lord’s mission in Hawaii!